


The Mistletoe Hint Hint Nudge Nudge Situation

by orphan_account



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Venezia | Venice, flatsharing au, i pretend to be douglas adams, it's set there again because of reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 16:54:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2858117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Jimmy wears mistletoe crown for Christmas in order to grab Thomas' attention."</p>
<p>This was the prompt. <br/>Pretty much what it says on the tin.</p>
<p>Beware of idiocy</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mistletoe Hint Hint Nudge Nudge Situation

**Author's Note:**

> I asked for a silly prompt, and a Tumblr anon provided one: "Jimmy wears mistletoe crown for Christmas in order to grab Thomas' attention".
> 
> Now, Christmas is over but not quite enough to drop the festive atmosphere quite yet.  
> It's silly.  
> I hope you enjoy it!

Jimmy turned and groaned. 

He felt the sunlight hit his face, and hid his head under the pillow… but to no avail. He was awake, and there was no way he could manage to fall asleep again, so he pulled himself up and glanced around the room.  
Unsurprisingly, he was alone, and a quick check to his phone made him understand the reason why I began the sentence with such an adverb.  
  
He groggily put his slippers and dressing gown on, and headed to the kitchen, where Alfred was cooking.   
The guy did little else. (To be fair, it was abundantly lunchtime, but that didn’t stop Jimmy from being annoyed).  
  
“Where’s Thomas?” the first-year student asked, after making sure the dark-haired boy wasn’t hiding in the very same room he was standing in. “There’s no class today!”  
“He said he’d go to the library”, the aspiring chef answered absent-mindedly, as he was rummaging through the spice mantle with the focus of a very focused aspiring chef. Which he was.

“D’you need the bathroom?” Alfred heard, after the distinctive noise of a door locking. He was briefly tempted to say “yes”, but he wasn’t the little shit. Jimmy was.  
“No”, he said instead, to no one in particular.  
  
Twenty minutes later, a fashionably dressed and perfectly styled boy strode out of the bathroom where a grumpy, rumpled guy had entred.  
It was a mystery to the three remaining flatmates how such a transformation could possibly take place, but take place it did.

“I’m going out!” Jimmy called, earning a nod from a happily chewing Alfred.  
The boy ran downstairs lightly, and as he opened the door he let out a colourful exclamation.   
Did it have to be so cold? Who had decided that winters had to be freezing? Why hadn’t he been interviewed when such a decision had been taken?

He strode quickly to the ferry stop and holy shit the tide was high, and he wasn’t wearing boots. Shitfuck.   
He had no intention of going back home, so he heroically sloshed into the murky water that invaded the sidewalk and trudged on.  
He was on a mission.  
  
“Where the hell do you buy mistletoe?” was a question that hit him a few minutes before the ferry docked.   
He stared at the Japanese tourist sitting beside him, hoping in divine inspiration. It didn’t come, so with a shrug he walked to the deck and onto the floating platform, heading towards St. Mark’s square.  
Everything could be found there, at astonishing prices but oh well.  
Again, he was on a mission, and the cost wasn’t going to scare him off.  
  
“Twenty euros”, the lady from the flower shop asked him with a smile.  
Jimmy cursed his stupid missions inside his head, but kept a smooth façade as he handed the banknote over with a winning smile.  
He grabbed the paper bag he was offered and headed back home, humming between himself and hoping the flat would be empty.

He was lucky. (It happened rarely, but it did happen).  
Jimmy moved the bunch of stuff that was sitting on the big kitchen table and set to braiding and weaving the bunch of mistletoe he’d bought.  
  
A long time later, he ended up with a wonky crown and a full set of very sticky fingers. He slid the remains of the darned plant inside the paper bag, which he threw away, and covered with more rubbish just to be sure.  
He hopped to the bedroom, and hid his artifact in the wardrobe.   
Part one of the plan had been a success.

Just as he was congratulating himself, he heard the front door creak and Thomas’ step come closer. He threw himself on the bed and grabbed a book, pretending to have been reading for the most part of the day.  
  
“Interesting book?” Thomas asked, a smirk audible in his voice.  
“Uh… not particularly? But it’s… it’s for uni”, Jimmy answered trying to sound believable.  
“Must be a particular teacher, if he requires you to study the material backwards”, the dark-haired boy remarked, flopping down on his bed.  
  
Jimmy was flustered, and tried to change the subject. “You do remember that you said you would come to the Christmas party tonight, yes?”  
“Oh, I’m sorry Jimmy, I’m afraid I’ve got to study tonight”.  
  
The blonde student deflated.  
“…I’m joking, you arse, how much of a nerd you take me for?”  
“What, with that hair?” Jimmy quipped, grinning and considering throwing his pillow onto his roommate’s head.  
  
****  
  
It didn’t take long for Jimmy to prepare for the evening, but that’s only because he had chosen the clothes he was going to wear days before; well, that, and his hair was always perfect.  
He felt handsome.  
But then again, that was his baseline feeling.  
  
When he heard Thomas’ voice calling him, he moved to the hall to put his coat and scarf on.  
The other… well, the other man was standing there with a slightly annoyed expression, but his eyes were glittering. Months of living side by side had taught Jimmy that it meant that Thomas was actually eager to go out, but at the same time he resented letting it show, hence the pouty face.  
“Shall we?” the dark haired man asked smoothly, and Jimmy nodded enthusiastically.  
  
They walked side by side, occasionally commenting on the people whose paths they crossed, but spending most of the time in comfortable silence.  
Jimmy held onto his roomy bag, that he brought along with the specific purpose of holding the mistletoe crown away from sight.  
  
A ferry ride and a short walk later, the two turned sharply into a narrow _calle_ and into a small club.  
It was crowded, the light was dim and the music was loud.   
Jimmy was in his element, and he couldn’t hide his huge smile as a song he  really enjoyed came up.  
He bounced to the dancefloor and began moving in time with the music, temporarlily forgetting about his flatmate.  


One, two, three… well, he lost count. A few songs (and a bunch of dancing partners) later, he figured it was time to go on a quest for the stupid nerd he’d brought along.  
He looked into the bathroom. All sorts of things were going on, but Thomas was not involved.  
He checked the bar, but no slicked-back hair in sight.  
The dancefloor had already been inspected.  
Ah-ha!  
  
Jimmy grabbed his coat and bag and walked out.   
The streetlamp cast an eerily pink light over Thomas, whose back was turned away from the door.  
“Gimme”, Jimmy demanded, reaching for the fag the other man was smoking.  
  
Thomas didn’t say anything, and let the younger boy steal his smoke. “Enjoyed yourself?” he asked, his voice quite devoid of emotion.  
  
At that moment, the clocktower stroke midnight, and cheering could be heard from the inside of the club.  
“Could have been better”, Jimmy answered enigmatically.  
  
“Oh yes? How?” Thomas inquired. “You seemed happy enough dancing with all those girls. Did any of them catch your fancy?”.   
He hadn’t come out to his flatmates yet, not really, but he suspected they suspected. The topic was pretty taboo, he figured, although it wouldn’t have taken a Sherlock Holmes to figure out he was head over heels in love with Jimmy.  
  
“Well, someone has” Jimmy said, smiling.   
Thomas remained silent.   
“…caught my fancy, I mean”, Jimmy added for clarity.  
“Yes, I figured that much”, the man snarked, his mood plummeting.  
  
Jimmy turned around, opened his bag and put the crown on swiftly.  
He faced Thomas once again.  
“You _absolute_ nerd”, he whispered, beaming sheepishly.


End file.
